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5 Unusual Things That Have Been 3D Printed

3D printing has allowed people to unleash their creativity in a number of exciting and unusual ways. From personal action figures to artificial limbs, 3D printing technology has made a number of amazing if slightly unusual ideas a reality.

3D printing technology is still developing so it’s amazing to consider what could be printed in the future when some wondrous things have already been created. Let’s take a look at my top 5 picks for unusual things that people have made using 3D printing technology.

A Fetus

While it might seem a little strange to have a replica of a still-developing baby as a paperweight 3D printing has made it possible and to be honest it is oddly sweet. The Japanese medical technology business Fasotec are the people responsible for this unusual idea.

By converting the images of a fetus, taken during an MRI scan they can create a 3D replica of it using 3D printing. It might be a slightly odd keepsake, but it is oddly touching and would certainly make an interesting memento.

Food

This one is a bit of a throwback because a lot of people are trying it now, but while it might be popular it’s still a little odd if you stop to think about it. I mean printing food is strange isn’t it? But while it might be a little unusual now it could soon become the new norm because it’s seeing a lot of interest.

Natural Machines is just one business that as based itself around 3D printed food and it’s already developed what it calls the first 3D printing kitchen appliance the Foodini. But they are not the only business working in 3D printed food, Sugar Lab an American based business design 3D printed cake-toppers and other edible confectionary products as well.

A House

Yes, you really can 3D print a house, and this as actually been in development a lot longer than many people realise. Joseph Pegna from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s department of mechanical engineering, aeronautical engineering, and mechanics even developed some 3D printing techniques in 1995 for building a house.

But it wasn’t till much later that actually 3D printing a house was possible and one of the first businesses to do it was tech start-up Apis Cor. They successfully designed and then built a fully 3D printed house in less than a day! The University of South California also houses its own 3D printer designed to help build houses and other large structures.

Organs

And when I say organs I don’t mean the musical instrument, although someone did use a 3D printer to make a working violin. Numerous medical organisations and businesses have already begun work on using 3D printing technology to replicate organs found in the human body.

Of course, the 3D printing in the medical world is a little different, your standard 3D printer won’t be up to the task of creating a working replacement organ but there more advanced counterpart might. These bio-printers use tissue and embryonic stem cells and a wide range of organs have already been successfully printed.

This includes a heart, lungs, bones and even skin, as the technology gets more advanced and better systems are created 3D printing could make what was once believed impossible possible! There have already been some amazing breakthroughs in the field of medicine with 3D printing and it’s only going to get better.

A 3D Printer

Well they do say the machines will one day take over, don’t they? I suppose it was inevitable that eventually, someone would use a 3D printer to try to make their very own machine. Adrian Bowyer an English engineer and mathematician was such a person and he succeeded!

He created the RepRap project which was designed to be an open-source and self-replicating 3D printer. The printer was a big success and no one can say for sure how many there actually are operational today, but it’s fair to say there's probably a lot.

In recognition of his work Adrian Bowyer was awarded the 3D Printing Industries Outstanding Contribution to 3D Printing Award in 2017 and while the RepRap project as currently ceased trading it’s already made an undeniably huge impact in the 3D printing industry.

So, while printing your own 3D printer is certainly unusual it does easily display the amazing possibilities of this still-developing technology.

*This article was written by a 3rd party. Print My Part will not be responsible for any factual inaccuracies.